Google Alphabet Website Blocked In China First Day

Tech geeks in China looking to understand Google’s newly unveiled corporate structure are out of luck: the website of the new parent company, dubbed Alphabet, was blocked less than 24 hours after going live.

Google unveiled a surprise corporate overhaul Tuesday forming Alphabet, a holding company that will include Internet search and a handful of independent companies, such as the research arm X Lab, investment unit Google Ventures and health and science operations.

So far the website only contains a letter from Google co-founder Larry Page and a link to Google’s existing investor relations page.

But the website for Alphabet, www.abc.xyz, is already blocked in China, which operates the world’s most extensive and sophisticated Internet censorship system, known as the “Great Firewall”.

Despite the block, the announcement of Google’s restructuring was widely reported in Chinese official media, including the People’s Daily, the official Communist Party mouthpiece.

Read More: vanguardngr

 

Military Checkpoints: Blocked Roads Reopen In Jos

A resident of Jos, the Plateau State capital, Garuba Usman, has expressed reservation with the order of President Muhammadu Buhari, directing that military checkpoints across the country should be dismantled.

As early as 7.30am on Tuesday, some security operatives, especially those of the police, supervised the removal of sandbags and sign posts, usually mounted by the military as shields.

Most of the roads closed as a result of the incessant crises in the metropolis were opened to traffic.

For instance, the road from Muritala Mohammed to Terminus, closed since May 20, 2014, when two bomb blasts killed over 200 people in the crowded Terminus market, has been reopened.

Most of the residents, who spoke to our correspondent on the development, described the removal as hasty, preferring rather that the dismantling be in phases.

A resident, Usman, said for a state like Plateau, where common argument between people of different faiths or tribes could lead to serious crisis, the dismantling of road blocks should not be rushed. He said, “For a city like Jos, with segregated living, road blocks are necessary for areas where one tribe or religion predominate.”

However spokesman for the Special Task Force, Mr. Ikedichi Iweha, allayed the fears of the residents.

Iweha said in some areas, soldiers were still on the standby to respond to emergencies, adding that the road blocks were being dismantled to reposition security agencies for greater efficiency.

He said, “In taking the decision, we are not unmindful of the security situation in the country and so where the checkpoints are dismantled, security men are still on standby to respond to any emergency.”

Creditpunchng